One Edmonds man killed, two others injured today at 220th and 76th

A 63-year-old Edmonds man, who was severely injured this morning when his van was rear-ended by a pick-up truck and pushed into another vehicle at the corner of 220th Street Southwest and 76th Avenue West, has died at Harborview Medical Center.

According to Sgt. Mike Blackburn of the Edmonds Police Department, the identities of the dead man and the other drivers involved in the crash have not yet been released.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. today when the van was stopped behind a pick-up truck, with both vehicles facing eastbound and waiting for a red light in the inside lane of 220th Street Southwest where it meets 76th Avenue West. Another pick-up truck traveling eastbound on 220th then collided with the stopped van, pushing it into the rear of the stopped pick-up truck. Debris from the three colliding vehicles also struck a compact car that was waiting for the light in the outside lane, causing damage to the car but no injuries.

The driver of the truck that hit the van, a 68-year-old man also from Edmonds, was transported to Harborview, where he remains with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the stopped pick-up truck, a 57-year-old Edmonds man, was transported to Stevens Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

The intersection was closed until 2:40 p.m. to allow Edmonds police to collect evidence at the scene. Blackburn said it isn’t known whether the truck that hit the van was traveling at a high rate of speed, or whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. The King County Medical Examiner is also involved in the investigation, since the victim was taken to Harborview.

I was at the red light, right next to that van when it got hit, about 9:30 this morning. The explosion of glass was deafening as the pickup truck pushed the van, and another truck ahead of the van, into the intersection. Terrible, terrible accident.

The pickup, being taller than the minivan, scraped right over the top of the minivan’s frame, crumpling it up from back to front.

With several medical personnel from Stevens already out of their cars and heading for the wreck, I ended up directing traffic until the police arrive a few minutes later, with the fire and ambulance teams close on their heels.

The accident certainly shook up everyone on the scene today. I took this not only as an opportunity to reinforce in my children the wisdom of seat belts, car spacing, and being ready for the unforeseen, but also to reflect on how incredibly well-served we are by our emergency services personnel, and by our neighbors.

Commenting Policy

We welcome comments on all posts at My Edmonds News. To encourage constructive community dialogue, all commenters must use their real names, first and last. Comments from users with names that don't comply with this policy will be removed. We also ask that you comply with our Code of Conduct policy, which you can view here.